Ball projecting machine



Oct. 17, 1950' T. R. FOSTER ETAL 2,526,018

BALL PROJECTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 as a2 l9 I2 26 9 3o 2a 32 22 -2| 3 FIG 2.

INVENTOR.

THOMAS R. FOSTER EDWARD J. FOSTER A TTQRNEY Oct. 17, 1950 'r. R. FOSTER ETAL 2,526,018

BALL PROJECTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. M moms R. rosrsn EDWARD .1. FZSTER 57M A TTORNE Y I Patented Oct. 17, 1 9 50 I good batting practice.

It is an object of this invention to provide an "UNITED" STATES PATE T OFFICE BALL PROIECTING MACHINE Thomas R. Foster and Edward J. Foster,

Baltimore, Md.

Application December 15, 1947, Serial No. 791,836

jects located at a distant point, the inventionhaving reference more particularly to a machine whereby a ball may-be ejected-from the device by means of compressed air or other gases and the ball causedto follow a curved course either in a right or left hand direction as well as straight. All of the directionslbeing controlled by the operator of the device.

The conventional typesof ball throwing machines are made for throwing a ball in a straight line, and some attempts have been made to produce a machine that would eject the ballin a manner that presented the simulation of a curving ball, but both of these devices have been arranged in separate units and were unsuccessful in their operation. In both instancesthe batter or catch-- er knew beforehand the type of ball to be thrown him based on which machine was used to throw the ball, one being'set for strai ht ball throwing and the other for curves, this eliminated the doubt from his mind which is necessary'for named character that will be so constructedthat it may be moved from place to place for eXh-ibi-- tion and practice purposes. andwhich may be used for projecting or throwing various kinds of objects, especially those called baseballs in a manner which may be caught or batted by a person within the range of the projected ball.

It is an object of this invention to provide an im roved ball-projecting device of the class described that shall be capable of rotating a ball and causing it to follow a curved course either to the right or left, or upward or downward or in a straight line, as maybe desired by the operator, and permit the operator to easily change the course for each succeeding ball thrown in order to compel the one attemptingto bat or to catch the ball to be constantly ont e'a1ert;

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved ball-projecting device in "which the operator can slow-up or speed-up the delivery speed of the ball to the batter or catcher.

It is an addit onal object of this inv ntion to provide an improved ball-pro ecting device in 2 Claims. (01. 124 11) Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line -4 of Figure 1; v l

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the barrel and nose piece showing the control mechanism; 7 7

Figure 6 i a sectional. view taken along line 6'6 of Figure 5; s

Figure! is a sectional View taken along line |l of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a sectional view similar to Figure 6 but in open position;

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 99 of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a view looking in the direction of arrows Iii-4 G of Figure 5; 1

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along line ll-l I of Figure '1, and

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken along line:

l2-l2' of Figure 2, showing the quick operating valve.

Similarreference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

The ball pro ecting device indicated in the drawings consists of a tripod I5 having a front leg l6 and provided'with collar l! to limit its penetrationinto the ground 18, and rear legs l9 having wheels attached at their lower ends for rolling the'device along the ground during movement from one place to' the other. The rear legs are held in spaced relationship by a bracket 2|.

.A shelf 22 is positioned at the upper ends of the legs to hold them in s aced relatio ship to each other and also to form a support for a turntable arrangement 23 p0 iti0nd thereon. The

a set collar 28. The upper end of the yoke pivotally supports the pneumatic gun 29. The gun comprises' an accumulator for collecting and holding the compressed gases receiv d from the gas tank 3| through a flexible hose 34; The

gas tank is positioned on the shelf 32 attached to the front and rear legs and is provided with the customarypressure regulating and control valves 33. '1

-. The gun is retained in various raised, lowered and. horizontal positions through an arcuate arm 35 attached at one end to the accumulator 30 and having an arcuate slot 36 at its lower endfor en'- gagement with a fitting attached to the lower end of the supporting shaft 21 and is fixedly attached thereto by an adjustment screw. The

gun 29 is provided with a barrel 3'! to which is attached a nose 38 which controls the action of the ball as it leaves the gun barrel 31. The ball is fed into the barrel through a hole 39 therein when the hole 40 in the sleeve M is aligned therewith for feeding the ball into the barrel 3?. The nose 38 comprises a collar 42 which is screwed onto the end of the barrel 3?. The collar 42 is provided with a bracket 43 to which are pivoted the upper and lower nose sections 44 and 45 that support fingers 43 and M respectively. The fingers 41 are provided with resilient covers 48 that create a drag on the ball on two sides while it glides unencumbered along the uncovered finger 46. This mechanism outlined causes the ball to rotate and curve after it leaves the barrel nose. The ball will curve either to the right or left depending on the location of the covered fingers. If the covered fingers are positioned on the right hand sidethe ball will curve to the right, if the covered fingers are turned towards the left, the ball will curve towards the left, and up or down. The nose 38 is rotated on the screw threaded portion of the barrel 3! to change the direction of the curve. The amount of curve administered to the ball is controlled by the adjustment screws 49 and 5B. The fingers are thrown out of engagement with the ball during its passage by releasing the thumb nut 5| positioned on bolt 5 through the pressure of springs 52 which move outwardly from the support 53 to contact ears 55 and 56 attached to the upper and lower nose sections 44 and 45. The fingers are covered by shells El and E8 respectively,'to protect them from contact on their outer surfaces. The barrel 3'! is connected to the accumulator 30 bya pipe member 59 in which is inserted a quick acting valve Be. The valve 60 may be of any of the conventional types of quick opening valves now on the market or it may be constructed along the lines shown in Figure 12, in which the body BI- is provided with a hole 62 which is closed by a plate 63 when moved to closing position by the handle 64.

In the operation of the device the pressure regulating valves are set to the predetermined pressure desired, and the control valve opened. Thisallows the compressed air or gas to pass up through the flexible hose 34 into the accumulator 3B and then to the valve 60.

The adjustment screws 49 and 50 are set against the fingers 4S and 41 to adjust them sufiiciently produce the amount of curve to be used. The nose is rotated on' the barrel threads so the covered fingers 41 will be positioned in alignment withthe direction the ball is to be curved to, and the nose sections 44 and 45 are locked in position by bolt 54 through the action of thumb nut 5| attached thereto. The sleeve 4! is positioned so the hole 45 in the sleeve aligns with the hole 39 in the barrel 3! and the ball is dropped into the barrel and the sleeve 4i again rotated to close the openings. The barrel is pointed through its rotation in a horizontal manner and aimed at the target, catcher or batter by the screw 24. The gun is pointed up or down on the yoke 26 and may be locked in position by a nut. When it is desired to throw a ball in a straight line the nose sections 44 and 45 are released through the action of the thumb nut 5!,

which allows the fingers 46 and 41 to move out of engagement with the ball as it asses from the end of the barrel. The speed of the thrown ball may be varied by increasing or decreasing the amount of air or gas used to operate the projector.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specifications, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form, as it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.'

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A ball projecting device comprising a support, a gun barrel mounted on said support, means for supplying compressed gases to said barrel, said gun barrel being rotatably mounted about a transverse axis, pivot means for swinging said gun barrel in a vertical plane, said barrel havin an opening in the wall thereof for feeding balls thereinto, means for closing said opening, a nose piece at the end of said barrel, said nose piece supporting a plurality of circularly spaced-apart fingers to contact the ball as it is ejected from said barrel to cause it to curve in a predetermined manner and said nose piece com prising a pair of arcuate members, means for pivoting said members with respect to each other, each of said members having a perforated ear integral therewith, a bolt passing through said earand having a nut on the free end thereof, spring means between said ears, whereby said nose piece members are yieldingly adjustable with respect to each other, certain of said fingers having a smooth surface and others having their outer portions covered with friction-creating means between said portions and the ball to slow up the travel of the ball at the point of contact while the opposite portion of the ball glides along the smooth surface finger, said nose piece being thus formed into separate units, means for selectively clamping said units on said barrel in a plurality of positions to vary the location of the fingers carried by said nose piece and their contact points with the ball, and means for adjusting the position of said fingers within said nose piece.

2. A ball projecting device as set forth in claim 1, said support including a tripod, rollers at the end of two of the legs thereof and a ground-em gaging point at the end of the third leg thereof.

THOMAS R. FOSTER. EDWARD FOSTER. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 884,024 Lake Apr. 7, 1908 1,270,293 Hoexter et al June 25, 1918 2,006,577 Perreault r July 2, 1935 2,136,035 Altemus et a1. Nov. 8, 1938 2,182,369 Barron Dec. 5, 1939 2,308,798 Peiker M Jan. 19, 1943 

